A variety of surgical instruments rely at least in part on electrical power to operate. Examples of such instruments include some versions of surgical stapling and cutting instruments, ultrasonic surgical instruments, and electrosurgical instruments. An example of an electrically powered surgical stapling and cutting instrument is the ECHELON FLEX™ Powered ENDOPATH® Stapler by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio. Further examples of such devices and related concepts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,416,101 entitled “Motor-Driven Surgical Cutting and Fastening Instrument with Loading Force Feedback,” issued Aug. 26, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0209990 entitled “Motorized Surgical Cutting and Fastening Instrument Having Handle Based Power Source,” published Aug. 20, 2009, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,657,174 on Feb. 25, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0239012, entitled “Motor-Driven Surgical Cutting Instrument with Electric Actuator Directional Control Assembly,” published Sep. 20, 2012, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,453,914 on Jun. 4, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/716,308, entitled “Circular Stapler with Selectable Motorized and Manual Control,” filed Dec. 17, 2012, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,445,816 on Sep. 20, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Examples of ultrasonic surgical instruments include the HARMONIC ACE® Ultrasonic Shears, the HARMONIC FOCUS® Ultrasonic Shears, and the HARMONIC SYNERGY® Ultrasonic Blades, all by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio. Further examples of such devices and related concepts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,055 entitled “Clamp Coagulator/Cutting System for Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments,” issued Jun. 21, 1994, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,873 entitled “Ultrasonic Clamp Coagulator Apparatus Having Improved Clamp Mechanism,” issued Feb. 23, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,510, entitled “Ultrasonic Clamp Coagulator Apparatus Having Improved Clamp Arm Pivot Mount,” filed Oct. 10, 1997, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,811 entitled “Blades with Functional Balance Asymmetries for use with Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments,” issued Dec. 4, 2001, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,524, entitled “Robotic Surgical Tool with Ultrasound Cauterizing and Cutting Instrument,” issued Aug. 31, 2004; U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0079874 entitled “Tissue Pad for Use with an Ultrasonic Surgical Instrument,” published Apr. 13, 2006, now abandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0191713 entitled “Ultrasonic Device for Cutting and Coagulating,” published Aug. 16, 2007, now abandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0282333 entitled “Ultrasonic Waveguide and Blade,” published Dec. 6, 2007, now abandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0200940 entitled “Ultrasonic Device for Cutting and Coagulating,” published Aug. 21, 2008, now abandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0069940 entitled “Ultrasonic Device for Fingertip Control,” published Mar. 18, 2010, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,023,071 on May 5, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0015660, entitled “Rotating Transducer Mount for Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments,” published Jan. 20, 2011, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,461,744 on Jun. 11, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and. Additionally, some of the foregoing surgical tools may include a cordless transducer such as that disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0112687, entitled “Recharge System for Medical Devices,” published May 10, 2012, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,381,058 on Jul. 5, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0116265, entitled “Surgical Instrument with Charging Devices,” published May 10, 2012, now abandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and/or U.S. Pat. App. No. 61/410,603, filed Nov. 5, 2010, entitled “Energy-Based Surgical Instruments,” the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
A variety of electrosurgical instruments include a tissue cutting element and one or more elements that transmit RF energy to tissue (e.g., to coagulate or seal the tissue). An example of such a device is the ENSEAL® Tissue Sealing Device by Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio. Further examples of such devices and related concepts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,176 entitled “Electrosurgical Systems and Techniques for Sealing Tissue,” issued Dec. 31, 2002, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,112,201 entitled “Electrosurgical Instrument and Method of Use,” issued Sep. 26, 2006, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,125,409, entitled “Electrosurgical Working End for Controlled Energy Delivery,” issued Oct. 24, 2006, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,169,146 entitled “Electrosurgical Probe and Method of Use,” issued Jan. 30, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,186,253, entitled “Electrosurgical Jaw Structure for Controlled Energy Delivery,” issued Mar. 6, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,189,233, entitled “Electrosurgical Instrument,” issued Mar. 13, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,220,951, entitled “Surgical Sealing Surfaces and Methods of Use,” issued May 22, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,309,849, entitled “Polymer Compositions Exhibiting a PTC Property and Methods of Fabrication,” issued Dec. 18, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,311,709, entitled “Electrosurgical Instrument and Method of Use,” issued Dec. 25, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,354,440, entitled “Electrosurgical Instrument and Method of Use,” issued Apr. 8, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. No. 7,381,209, entitled “Electrosurgical Instrument,” issued Jun. 3, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Additional examples of electrosurgical cutting instruments and related concepts are disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0087218, entitled “Surgical Instrument Comprising First and Second Drive Systems Actuatable by a Common Trigger Mechanism,” published Apr. 14, 2011, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,939,974 on Jan. 27, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0116379, entitled “Motor Driven Electrosurgical Device with Mechanical and Electrical Feedback,” published May 10, 2012, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,161,803 on Oct. 20, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0078243, entitled “Control Features for Articulating Surgical Device,” published Mar. 29, 2012, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,877,720 on Jan. 30, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0078247, entitled “Articulation Joint Features for Articulating Surgical Device,” published Mar. 29, 2012, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,402,682 on Aug. 2, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/622,729, entitled “Surgical Instrument with Multi-Phase Trigger Bias,” filed Sep. 19, 2012, and published as U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0030428 on Jan. 31, 2013, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,089,327 on Jul. 28, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/622,735, entitled “Surgical Instrument with Contained Dual Helix Actuator Assembly,” filed Sep. 19, 2012, and published as U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0023868 on Jan. 24, 2013, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,545,253 on Jan. 17, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/658,784, entitled “Litz Wire Battery Powered Device,” filed Oct. 23, 2012, and published as U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0103023 on Apr. 25, 2013, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,421,060 on Aug. 23, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
While several electrically powered surgical instruments have been made and used, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor(s) has made or used the invention described herein and in any claims appended hereto.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the technology may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present technology, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the technology; it being understood, however, that this technology is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.